Neohelicon
Volume/Issue:
Volume 34: Issue 1
Human values and spiritual values: Traces of Prometheus in Portuguese literature and criticism
Author:
Ângela Fernandes Universidade de Lisboa, Alameda da Universidade Departamento de Literaturas Românicas, Faculdade de Letras 1600-214 Lisboa Portugal 1600-214 Lisboa Portugal

Search for other papers by Ângela Fernandes in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
Pages:
41–49
Online Publication Date:
27 Apr 2007
Publication Date:
27 Jun 2007
Article Category:
Research Article
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11059-007-1004-z
Restricted access

Abstract  

This paper follows the traces of Prometheus in several Portuguese poems and philosophical essays published in the first half of the twentieth century. The analysis shows how these texts, despite their varied discursive and ideological stance, significantly use the reference to Prometheus to stress the importance of spiritual values in the definition of humanness. Guerra Junqueiro’s poetic draft Prometeu Libertado [Prometheus Unbound] and Leonardo Coimbra’s philosophical narrative “Uma Fala de Espritos” [“A Talk of Spirits”] recall the antithesis between the material world and the spiritual world represented by Prometheus and Christ, while depicting the future of humankind as a balanced reunion of both dimensions. Then, in the historical and political essay “Prometeu. Ensaio espiritual da Europa” [“Prometheus. Spiritual essay of Europe”], Almada Negreiros grants Prometheus a major spiritual significance in Western culture, and the suffering hero is also regarded as the symbol of human spiritual demands in the poem Canto de Prometeu [Prometheus’s Chant], by Joo de Barros.

  • Collapse
  • Expand
Cover Neohelicon
Neohelicon
Print ISSN:
0324-4652
Online ISSN:
1588-2810

To see the editorial board, please visit the website of Springer Nature.

Manuscript Submission: HERE

For subscription options, please visit the website of Springer Nature.

Neohelicon
Language English
Size B5
Year of
Foundation		 1973
Volumes
per Year		 1
Issues
per Year		 2
Founder Akadémiai Kiadó
Founder's
Address		 H-1117 Budapest, Hungary 1516 Budapest, PO Box 245.
Publisher Akadémiai Kiadó
Springer Nature Switzerland AG
Publisher's
Address		 H-1117 Budapest, Hungary 1516 Budapest, PO Box 245.
CH-6330 Cham, Switzerland Gewerbestrasse 11.
Responsible
Publisher		 Chief Executive Officer, Akadémiai Kiadó
ISSN 0324-4652 (Print)
ISSN 1588-2810 (Online)

Monthly Content Usage

Abstract Views Full Text Views PDF Downloads
Apr 2024 3 0 0
May 2024 10 0 0
Jun 2024 12 0 1
Jul 2024 3 0 0
Aug 2024 9 0 0
Sep 2024 3 0 0
Oct 2024 0 0 0